For the Last Time . . .

I am not blogging for the last time, even though my recent blogging history shows otherwise. Michelle and I have unequivocally decided that this new child will definitely be our last. And so, I have been thinking lately about things that I am doing for the last time:

I happen to think that my wife is stunning. I know, lucky me. But there is something about her when she is pregnant. I love the way she looks pregnant. I think her body was made to carry babies - she just looks soooo good. So, I will miss seeing Michelle pregnant. On the same token, this is the last time that I will get to hold my wife and put my hand on her belly and feel a baby inside kick or roll over or stretch, or whatever it is they do in there to make Michelle's belly move like a scene from Aliens. I will miss Michelle being pregnant.

I will never have to go through the agony of naming another child. I don't think there is another responsibility that on the surface seems so easy, but the ramifications of the final decision are so very very far-reaching. I mean, it's not like naming a dog or a hamster. I don't think the animals really care about what their names are. I am not quite sure they even know they have names. But babies inevitably grow up. And the one thing that they carry with them that they generally cannot change is their given name. What if they don't like it? What if the name rhymes with something embarrassing? What if the name "doesn't go with the other kids' names"? Have we been politically correct in using family names from both sides of the family? It's all a giant nightmare. Tyler, Julia, Justin and Kate. Sounds like a sitcom - I am OK with that.

After Michelle delivers this child, and unless I make a drastic career change, I will most likely never get to witness the actual birth of another child. The process is truly a miracle. I am so looking forward to seeing her face and cutting the cord and waiting for that angry first cry and all for the last time. I don't know of anything that I have ever witnessed that is more spectacular than the birth of a human being. I will miss seeing that.

Tonight we went to my Mother's home and my sisters were there and we gave away 4 giant garbage bags of boy clothes. My sisters all have small boys and hopefully they were able to benefit from these clothes. This is the last time I will ever have a little boy. Justin is my last little boy - kinda makes me sad. And Kate is my last little girl (wimper).

In a month or two, for the last time I will hold this little girl in my arms and surrounded by some of the most important men in her life, I will get to call on the heavens and give her a name and a blessing. I have blogged about baby blessings before. Blessing my children is a unique and fantastic privilege; it's one of my favorite things about being a father.

Finally, for the last time I will get to watch a child grow and be a witness to all of her firsts: first dirty diaper, first roll over, first sleeping through the night, first crawl, first steps, first words, first potty training, first day of school. All of her firsts will be my lasts.

Even though I am sure about Kate being our last child, I am not sure how I feel about doing all of these things for the last time . . .